Inside the Hive B

A closer look at the bees inside the Hive B 3D-printed guitar. Four of Olaf Diegel's 3D-printed guitars will be played together live onstage at the EuroMold design fair in Frankfurt, Germany on December 3-6.

Buzz-worthy bass

Steampunk style

Olaf Diegel's company, ODD Designs, uses Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printing to craft the bodies of custom guitars, then adds a mahogany or maple wood core, a wooden neck, tuning pegs, a bridge, pickups, and controls for a fully playable instrument. The entire body of the Steampunk guitar, including all the moving parts, is printed as a single component, with no further assembly required.

Drums with flair

For the Atom drum kit, Olaf Diegel replaced the shells of a Sonor Smart Force kit with 3D-printed ones. The "3D-printed Band" (band name subject to change) will play these drums and other 3D-printed instruments at the EuroMold design fair in Frankfurt, Germany next month.